State function

In the thermodynamics of equilibrium, a state function, function of state, or point function is a function defined for a system relating several state variables or state quantities that depends only on the current equilibrium thermodynamic state of the system (e.g. gas, liquid, solid, crystal, or emulsion), not the path which the system took to reach its present state. A state function describes the equilibrium state of a system, thus also describing the type of system. For example, a state function could describe an atom or molecule in a gaseous, liquid, or solid form; a heterogeneous or homogeneous mixture; and the amounts of energy required to create such systems or change them into a different equilibrium state.
Internal energy, enthalpy, and entropy are examples of state quantities because they quantitatively describe an equilibrium state of a thermodynamic system, regardless of how the system arrived in that state. In contrast, mechanical work and heat are process quantities or path functions because their values depend on the specific "transition" (or "path") between two equilibrium states. Heat (in certain discrete amounts) can describe a state function such as enthalpy, but in general does not truly describe the system unless it is defined as the state function of a certain system, and thus enthalpy is described by an amount of heat. This can also apply to entropy when heat is compared to temperature. The description breaks down for quantities exhibiting hysteresis.

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